It’s not as distinct as you suggest. The two often intertwine and all too often the “Anti-Current Israeli government” protests become anti-Jewish attacks. Witness the attacks on Jewish businesses that took place in France-indeed over Europe- over this summer. These were attacks on Jewish businesses that had nothing at all to do with Israel and the references to “Jew” and “Zionist” were freely interchanged.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/world/europe/europes-anti-semitism-comes-out-of-shadows.html
I honestly don’t want to get into a political debate on this subject but I wanted to underscore the above in order to explain why the summary firing of the two Jewish leaders is so important in my mind. Given the anti-Israeli–which in my eyes too often does cross the line into anti-Jewish–sentiment, it’s critical that the Jewish students on campus feel supported. I have read of incidents on other campuses where Jewish kids were assaulted, their fraternities defaced, their meetings blocked or speakers heckled and harassed. I do not want my daughter at any school where she is left without a leader and supporter. And that’s not even getting to the point of observing her religion. The timing here is more than unfortunate. Has the school appointed anyone to serve in a temporary capacity? Were there problems with either or both of the two Jewish leaders before the sudden dismissal?
I apologize for jumping in here. I thought it might be helpful to those of you who know and love Wellesley to understand that the school’s decision is having an impact on how prospective students and their parents view the school. It’s a really wonderful place, no doubt, and I hope the administration resolves to right this quickly.